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An overview of this role
As a Senior Backend Engineer at GitLab, you will help build the core capabilities of our dedicated software supply chain security Add-On. This commercial offering helps organizations control what software enters their builds, verify the integrity of what they ship, and identify malicious packages before they reach production. You will work across a set of connected backend systems that support package policy enforcement, artifact signing and verification, provenance attestation, and malicious package intelligence.
This is a founding role on a small team with a high level of responsibility. The engineering choices you make in API design, testing, performance, and security will help shape how this product grows. You will work closely with a Staff Backend Engineer on architecture and partner with other engineers to deliver secure, reliable features for enterprise customers with complex supply chain security needs. This role is well suited for someone who wants to combine solid Ruby on Rails backend skills with deep technical problems in security, platform design, and product development in GitLab's all-remote, asynchronous environment.
Some examples of our projects:
- Building backend services for package policy enforcement and dependency control
- Implementing artifact signing, verification, and provenance workflows using the Sigstore ecosystem
What you’ll do
- Design and implement backend features across the Add-On's software supply chain security surface, including policy enforcement, artifact signing and verification, provenance attestation APIs, and malicious package detection integrations, delivering secure capabilities that meet enterprise customer requirements.
- Build and improve the package policy evaluation engine, including rule compilation, request matching, enforcement decisions, and performance-sensitive execution paths tied to GitLab's Dependency Firewall infrastructure, improving accuracy, reliability, and execution performance.
- Develop artifact signing and verification workflows, including Sigstore and Cosign integrations, signing key lifecycle management, keyless signing with OpenID Connect (OIDC), and policy-based promotion gates, enabling trusted and auditable software delivery.
- Create and evolve the configuration interfaces that enterprise security teams use, including backend APIs and the GraphQL surface for expressing supply chain security requirements, improving usability and adoption for customer administrators.
- Integrate Add-On capabilities with GitLab's existing security policy framework, including policy inheritance and policy-as-code support through YAML, expanding coverage across customer security workflows.
- Collaborate with adjacent teams as malicious package intelligence is incorporated into the Add-On offering, helping deliver cohesive workflows and faster response to package risk.
- Write and maintain comprehensive RSpec and integration test coverage, and help improve test reliability across the team, increasing confidence in releases and reducing regressions.
- Review merge requests with a security-first mindset and implement solutions with substantial decision-making scope in partnership with the Staff Backend Engineer, maintaining code quality and secure engineering standards.
What you’ll bring
- Proven backend engineering experience, including production Ruby on Rails expertise, as this is the team's primary language.
- Working knowledge of Go or a clear willingness and ability to ramp up quickly in it.
- Solid API design skills, including experience with REST, GraphQL, and defining clear internal service boundaries.
- Solid PostgreSQL fundamentals, including schema design, query optimization, and indexing strategies.
- Experience with Redis for caching and distributed coordination patterns.
- A security-aware engineering mindset, with sound judgment around trust boundaries, input validation, and failure modes.
- Familiarity with software supply chain security concepts such as Supply-chain Levels for Software Artifacts (SLSA), software bill of materials (SBOM), artifact signing, or related security scanning approaches.
- Interest in complex policy, registry, or platform problems, including areas such as rules engines, package ecosystems, cryptographic signing, or DevSecOps product development.
About the team
The SSCS Add-On team is part of GitLab's Software Supply Chain Security stage and is focused on building a commercial offering that addresses real supply chain security challenges for enterprise customers. The team works on capabilities that combine multiple parts of the GitLab product into a more complete security solution for organizations with strong compliance and risk management needs.
The work is both technically interesting and strategically important. The team is building in a space shaped by fast-moving threats, evolving customer requirements, and close coordination with nearby teams across the broader security area. That combination creates an environment where engineers can contribute to product direction while solving practical backend challenges in a visible part of GitLab's platform. For more on how related teams work, see Team Handbook Page.
How GitLab Supports Full-Time Employees
Please note that we welcome interest from candidates with varying levels of experience; many successful candidates do not meet every single requirement. Additionally, studies have shown that people from underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to a job unless they meet every single qualification. If you're excited about this role, please apply and allow our recruiters to assess your application.
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